Snow is in the forecast for Metro Vancouver this weekend, Environment Canada is warning.
The agency issued a special weather statement for Metro Vancouver and the North Shore Friday, warning of snow and some of the coldest conditions seen this winter.
"We could see two to four centimetres when those showers switch over to flurries," meteorologist Matt MacDonald told CTV Vancouver.
"Following a relatively mild first half of winter, a transition to much colder conditions will begin Saturday night over the South Coast. Cold Arctic air is currently pushing southwards across the interior of the province and is expected to arrive Saturday night or early Sunday," the agency wrote in a release.
It says a mixture of rain and snow is expected Sunday, with accumulation possible.
Temperatures will be five to 10 C below seasonal averages for the majority of next week, making for the coldest conditions seen yet.
"This is really the first arctic air that we’ve seen this season and it’s going to be here for quite a while," said MacDonald, adding that snow is possible for later next week.
The possibilities of a winter dusting has cities and the transit authority busy preparing.
Brad Lofgren, the director of public works for the city of Coquitlam, says the municipality has 2,500 tonnes of salt in stock to help before the cold snap hits and for the Monday morning commute.
"We will have several crews out on the road pre-salting all of our major roads, arterials and hopefully a lot of our local roads to be prepared when the snow comes it will actually prevent it from accumulating," he said.
TransLink acknowledged delays are possible if the snow sticks.
"If it does snow there’s going to be delays we just can’t avoid them completely but we’re going to do our best to keep things moving," said spokesman Chris Bryan.
Bryan says special trains will spray rail to keep them from freezing in addition to the brass cutters TransLink outfits its trains with to cut through ice.
